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| Good morning. It's the last workday before a scorching, thunder-streaked holiday weekend, so let's get through this quickly — you've got fireworks to plan around, potentially at 100 degrees. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The $63.4 billion state budget landed on Governor Maura Healey's desk this week, and buried inside it is one of the more quietly significant criminal justice reforms Massachusetts has passed in years: the state is about to stop being one of the strictest places in America for prosecuting rape.
Right now, Massachusetts bars nearly all rape prosecutions involving adult victims after 15 years — full stop, no matter what evidence turns up later. That's meant that even when DNA technology matches a suspect to an old case, prosecutors' hands have been tied. A WBUR/ProPublica investigation found that as many as 47 other states give prosecutors more time than Massachusetts does. Healey pushed to fix this in her January budget proposal, and it survived the Legislature's monthslong budget grind intact — a provision that will let prosecutors file charges indefinitely once DNA evidence produces a match, even outside that 15-year window. Healey has already said she'll sign the budget, and has until July 11 to do it. Once she does, the change takes effect immediately, meaning cold cases sitting in evidence lockers with untested or previously unmatched DNA could suddenly become prosecutable again. This is the kind of policy shift that won't make headlines the way a governor's race or a Celtics trade will, but it will change outcomes in real cases, for real survivors, for years to come. Full story at WBUR → |
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| Healey's reelection ad debuts, wrapped in a flag. The governor's first TV spot of the cycle leans hard into the 250th-anniversary patriotism of the moment, set to the Dropkick Murphys, hitting her usual notes on affordability and health care without ever saying Donald Trump's name. It's a modest five-figure buy, but paired with two dark-money groups already running friendly ads, it signals the governor's race is shifting out of neutral. Boston Globe → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A dozen Weymouth voters say their names were forged on GOP nomination papers. A state commission already ruled that hundreds of signatures submitted for Republican candidates Anne Manning Martin (lieutenant governor) and Michael Walsh (attorney general) were "likely fraudulent," booting them from the primary ballot. Now the Globe has tracked down actual voters — including one who's lived in Florida for over a year — who say they never signed anything. Both candidates are appealing, including to the state's highest court. Boston Globe → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Senate takes its own swing at kids and social media. Rather than banning minors from platforms outright like the House did, Senate leaders unveiled a bill that forces companies to turn off "addictive" features by default — infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmic feeds — and send usage reminders after an hour. It skips the government-ID verification fight entirely, leaving that to the attorney general's office. A vote is expected next week, setting up a negotiation with the House over which approach survives. GBH News → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The head of the collapsed Croft School allegedly used tuition money for vacations. Scott Given ran two sets of books, forged records to hide $13 million in debt, and lied to families about Croft's finances while quietly selling off his own equity stake, according to a new complaint from Secretary of State William Galvin's securities division. The school — 600 students across Boston and Providence — closed last month despite a frantic, ultimately futile fundraising push by parents. Given is also under federal investigation. Boston Globe → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beacon Hill's housing "fix" this session is mostly leftovers. Despite affordability topping every poll of what's stressing out Massachusetts residents, lawmakers aren't pursuing a big swing this year — just incremental moves tucked into the budget, a supplemental budget, and an economic development bill, while leaning on a housing bond bill and MBTA Communities zoning law that already passed years ago. "This isn't the monumental session for housing," says Jesse Kanson-Benanav of Abundant Housing Massachusetts. CommonWealth Beacon → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Energy bill negotiations are getting tense — and political. The Senate passed its own energy affordability package late Wednesday night, 32-8, aimed at winding down subsidies for leak-prone gas pipe replacement and putting clean energy requirements on data centers. But it's wildly different from the House's version, and with an election year bearing down, negotiators face real pressure to actually produce utility bill relief voters can feel. WBUR → | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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FY2027 Budget Tracker
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Current stage: Sent to Governor
Governor's Budget (H2) — filed House Budget (H5500) | 1744 amendments filed — house_floor Senate Budget (H5501) | 1 amendments filed — conference Conference Budget (H5555) — governor_desk
📋 [July 01] Reported from the committee of conference 📋 [July 01] Committee of conference report accepted - 142 YEAS to 6 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 223) 📋 [July 01] Committee of conference report accepted, in concurrence 📋 [July 01] Enacted - 142 YEAS to 6 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 224) 📋 [July 01] Enacted -see Roll Call #200 (Yeas 39 to Nays 1) 📋 [July 01] Laid before the Governor |
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💰 Money Watch
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Yesterday's Biggest Contributions
Big Spending This Week
Data from the MA Office of Campaign & Political Finance |
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This Week on Beacon Hill
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Tuesday, July 07, 1:00 PM Senate Committee on Juvenile and Emerging Adult Justice Topic: Informational Hearing on Juvenile Justice Policy and Data Board 2025 Annual Report Location: 222 , Boston Tuesday, July 07, 2:00 PM Senate Committee on the Census Topic: Census Racial Categorization and Redistricting Location: A-1 , Boston Tuesday, July 07, 2:00 PM Massachusetts Data Privacy Act Topic: Data Privacy Conference Committee Initial Meeting Location: A-2 , Boston |
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New on the Ballot
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Recent filings with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance: Change of Purposes
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